We moved into our first house in Columbia back in 1990, and discovered a not terribly well known thing - just up the street (walking distance) was a dead end - it had been the old Route 29 before they made it into a 4 lane divided highway. It's level with an overpass at its highest point, and affords a very nice view of the downtown fireworks display on July 4th.

The first time we went up there, there were one or two cars, and a handful of families. Last night, the local church group was out selling popcorn and soda, the cars were parked along a full mile or so of street, and there were a couple of hundred people ranged up and down that little strip. How it remained such a "secret" (that neighborhood is over 20 years old) so long, I have no idea - but it's no longer secret.

Even so, we got a nice view, and it was far easier to get in and out than it would have been downtown. Columbia is nothing like Baltimore or DC on 4th of July, but it still gets crowded, and traffic does back up. It's enjoyable to watch the show from a distance, and then just hop in the car and get home in 5- 10 minutes. Anyhow, I managed to get some halfway decent shots with my camera phone:

Those last two came out pretty well considering the equipment :) It was a nice display, and a good time was had by all.